Pipeline
A pipeline is the road a lead travels: an ordered list of stages, one of them the Won stage, and a set of rules that say which moves between stages are allowed, which need remarks and which need approval.
What it is for
Every lead names one pipeline. The lead's Lead Stage is one of this pipeline's stages, the board draws one column per stage in the order of the lines here, and every sales figure counts a lead as won or lost from the Stage Type of the stage it sits in, never from the stage's name.
The rule people get wrong: a stage move through Change Lead Stage on the lead needs a Stage Rules line for it. A pipeline with stages and no rules lets nobody move a lead with that button; they are told "No stage rule is configured". Dragging a card on the board does not read the rules (see Lead).
Every field in plain words
Header
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline | The pipeline's code | Required, unique. Set when it is created |
| Name | What users see | Required. Kept per language |
| Block | Stops the pipeline being picked on new leads | Tick to retire it |
| Restrict deals from skipping stages | On the board, a card may move forward only one stage at a time | Tick to stop skipping on the board. The Change Lead Stage button is not limited by it; use Stage Rules for that |
| Restrict deals from moving backwards | A lead may never move to an earlier stage | Applies to the board and to Change Lead Stage |
| Required Weightage | Recorded on the pipeline | Nothing reads it today |
Basic Data: the stages
One line per stage, in the order a lead moves through them. The order of the lines is the order of the board's columns and of the stage lists on the lead.
| Column | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | The stage's name | Required. Typed. The same name is what the leads and the Stage Rules hold, so renaming a stage that leads already sit in leaves them in a stage the pipeline no longer has |
| Stage Type | Whether a lead in this stage is open, won or lost | Required. Exactly one stage must be Won, and at most one may be Lost |
| Probablity | The chance, in percent, that a lead in this stage closes | Used by the CRM board to weigh the pipeline (Pipeline Projection by Dimension) |
| Line Text | A note | Optional |
A per-stage "Restrict deals from moving backwards" column also exists, but it is hidden on this screen as shipped.
Stage Rules
One line per allowed or refused move. Only the Change Lead Stage button on the lead reads these lines.
| Column | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Tag | Which users the line is for | Empty for everybody, or a user tag: the line then applies only to users who carry that tag |
| From Stage | The stage the lead is in | Type the stage name exactly as on Basic Data |
| To Stage | The stage it moves to | As above |
| Allowed | The move is permitted | Tick it. A line with Allowed off refuses the move |
| Based on Approval | The move waits for approval | Tick it to raise a Request Change Lead Stage instead of moving at once. An approval must be set up for that screen |
| Remarks Required | The user must say why | Tick it to make Remarks mandatory in the dialog |
| Line Text | A note | Optional |
The New Stage list on the lead offers every stage of the pipeline. A stage with no rule from the current stage is offered and then refused when saved.
How to configure it
- Type the stages in order and give each a Stage Type. One Won, at most one Lost.
- Fill Probablity if the board's weighted pipeline is to mean anything.
- Add a Stage Rules line for each move you allow. A plain forward road needs one line per step: Prospect to Qualified, Qualified to Proposal, and so on, each with Allowed ticked.
- Add a line from each open stage to the Lost stage if leads can be lost from anywhere.
- Decide whether a won deal can ever be reopened. If yes, add a line from the Won stage to the stage it may go back to, with Allowed ticked and, usually, Based on Approval.
- Tick Restrict deals from moving backwards if the sales process never goes back.
Several pipelines can run side by side in one company, for example one for project sales and one for service contracts. Each lead names one, and the board draws each pipeline's columns separately.
Scenarios
- Discounts above a level need a manager before the Proposal stage. Tick Based on Approval on the Qualified to Proposal line.
- Losing a deal must be explained. Tick Remarks Required on every line whose To Stage is the Lost stage.
- Only senior salespeople may skip negotiation. Add a Proposal to Won line with their user tag and Allowed ticked; ordinary users have no such line.
What it is connected to
- Lead - names one pipeline and one of its stages.
- Request Change Lead Stage - raised by a rule with Based on Approval.
- CRM lists, reports and board - the board's columns and the won and lost figures come from here.
If something looks wrong
- "Mark exactly one stage as the Won stage (Stage Type = Won) - it is what a won lead, and every sales figure, is counted from." No stage has the Won type. Set one.
- "Only one stage can be the Won stage." or "Only one stage can be the Lost stage." Change the extra stage's type.
- Saving says the Pipeline already exists. Pipeline codes are unique.
- On the lead, "No stage rule is configured for ‘Qualified’ → ‘Proposal’". Add that line on Stage Rules, with the stage names exactly as on Basic Data.
- The board shows a stage with no leads while leads seem to have vanished. A stage was renamed. The leads still hold the old name.